Dementia
by lunafemina
Summary: She can't remember who she is, where she came from, or her own name. But she can remember the Holocost, the Trojan War, and the dinosaurs. Can she be the solution after the war? Post X3.
1. The Day the Earth Shook

**_Author's Note:_** _This is a story of what happens after X3. I realize that I have to bring in a lot of new characters for this, but this is how the existing ones get on after the deaths of so many. I hope you like it. R&R! _

_**Attention: Spoilers for X3!**_

**Dimensia**

_The Day the Earth Shook_

The rain cascaded down in heavy sheets for the fifth day in a row. The grounds of the mansion-school were long past flooding. Rivers and streams in the surrounding area had risen to dangerous levels and many people had been forced to leave their homes. Lightning from the torrential rains had struck several homes and killed two people. And Storm could do nothing about it.

The rains had been affecting not only the land, but also the mutant residents of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The students were forced to remain inside for the third day in a row, and aggravation was beginning to show. Miniscule fights had broken out between children who were at odds with one another, and even some between friends. These quarrels, along with the outside conditions, made the moods of the teachers even worse. Storm was furious that her powers had no effect on the rains. Angel was beyond agitated that he could not get outside to fly. Kurt was constantly caught in the middle of student quarrels and had not had a good night's rest in almost a week. And Logan was growing more and more self-pitying by the day.

Today was an especially bad day for Logan's mood. He was getting more and more harsh with his students, but it had very little to do with his students. Though he couldn't work with them outside, they still had the gym. The true reason Logan was so angry was because of Jean. It had been nearly three weeks since her death and he still could not cope. But it only really affected him when he was alone with nothing to occupy him and take his mind off of her. The last five days had brought him only that.

Now he stood in his office and watched the rain pounding against the windows. Though he hadn't initially been too happy with the thought of an office, he now spent most of his time in it since the rain started. His thoughts were once again of Jean. How he had killed her, the look in her eyes, the way she asked for it to happen. He something to take his mind off of her, something more than just teaching. He needed a mission and he needed it now.

As if to answer his dreary request, the professor called Logan to his office. Grudgingly, Logan left the dark quiet of his office.

It was only two weeks ago that Charles Xavier had returned to them. No one was quite certain of how it happened. The only they knew was that he transferred his own conscious being into that of a man whose consciousness had been lost long ago. Beyond that, no one dared question his return. They only cared that he was here, and he, for the moment, only cared to find the mutant who was causing the storms. For five days he had been unsuccessful.

When Logan reached Xavier's office, he noticed several of his fellows already present. Storm was there, along with Angel, Beast, Nightcrawler, Bobby, Kitty, and Colossus. "Isn't he still a little young for a mission?" Logan asked, gesturing towards Colossus.

Xavier smiled slightly and replied, "After Alcatraz I should think he will be fine. And I have explained the situation and Hank has been more than happy to assist us with this. Now, before we go any further, I need all of you for this mission."

"Why?" Storm asked. She saw the danger in all of them leaving the mansion at once. Charles was very powerful, but she still worried for the safety of the children.

He smiled in response. "Because I believe that I have located the mutant who is causing the disturbance. She is in on an island not far from here. From what I can tell she is completely alone on the island, but she possesses incredible power. I need you all to bring her here."

Beast nodded, but Colossus was skeptical. "Do you have any other information on her? What she looks like or what she can do?"

Charles sighed and replied, "I don't know anything else about her, but she has enough power to cause this." He waved his hand towards the window where the rain came down relentlessly. "Do not worry about her looks; you will know when you find her. I have a feeling that she is unmistakable."

With that said Charles escorted the group to the jet and watched them leave towards what he was certain of as the cause of all of the problems…and perhaps the solution.

* * *

Inside the jet the mood was tense, Logan was silent and wondering whether or not it was safe to have the younger one with them, but Storm was just as uncomfortable. After all, her power was being in control of the weather, and she didn't like the thought of meeting the mutant who could override her powers. Only Beast still looked calm and composed.

It was not hard to identify the direction the island was since the weather conditions only got worse. Strong gusts of wind pushed them closer to their destination and they soon reached the island. When they did, they had trouble making a landing. It was not the ideal conditions and they nearly crashed. But the moment they landed and stepped onto the flooded earth, they felt rushing tremors beneath their feet.

"Logan," Storm asked, "Can you sense anything?"

He raised his head to try and sniff the air, but all he got was a nose full of water. "Nothing," he replied gruffly. He was already starting to doubt their mission. It was clear that the mutant didn't want any help from them. She must have been doing this on purpose.

"I suppose we shout try to identify the source of the disturbance," Beast offered. "It all has to be radiating from a source." They all nodded and decided that this was the best course of action. In a few moments they realized this was a good idea. The tremors were stronger and the rain was being blown in circles from the gusts. Logan began to wonder about the possibility of tornadoes.

It took nearly sixty pain-staking minutes to fight through the wind and rain. The tremors constantly knocked them off their feet and threatened to open up the earth and swallow them. But soon they heard an ear-splitting scream. Knowing that it could be no one else, they fought harder to reach her. And soon they came upon a sight that even Logan pitied.

She was crouched in the center of a large puddle. She was in a position that strongly resembled the fetal position. But her hands were tearing across her flesh, ripping at it and drawing blood. Her hair, it seemed, was a dark shimmering color with no particular name, but it was also matted with blood. Her clothing was ripped and torn to the point of indecency. All around her lightning was crackling, the earth was shaking, and winds were forming small lethal tornadoes.

The X-men were awed and horrified. "We can't get near her!" Colossus shouted. He was fighting hard to remain where he was. His metal body had proven useful against debris, but he was so heavy that he had no sense of balance and the winds blew him over constantly.

"You can't, but I can!" Logan shouted. He crouched towards the ground, taking a huge risk, and used his claws to anchor him to the ground. Gradually, he clawed and crawled his way towards her. The ground held steady even though there were times when it shook violently beneath him.

He called out to her when he was within earshot. "Stop! Stop this! Calm down!" There was no sign of movement at his words and he was sure that she hadn't heard him. Seeing nothing else to do, he came next to her and hit violently in that head. She wavered for a moment, massive power still emanating from her, then she fell to the ground unconscious. The winds immediately died and the ground stopped shaking. The rain and clouds lessened and disappeared only a few minutes later.

"You didn't have to kill her, Logan," Storm said when she walked over to his side.

"She's not dead," he said softly. "She's too strong for that."

Looking down at her, his heart ached once more for Jean.


	2. Emotional Control

_**Author's Note:** Just a heads up, I'm going to be referring to the new character as "she" for a while. It will be a little while until she gets a name. Also, I may occasionally switch the point of view. I will try to make it clear who is telling the story when. Thank you to those who read it and reviewed. R&R!_

She had remained unconscious throughout the flight back to the mansion. She had not awoken when they brought her to the medical wing. She made no sound while she was being strapped to monitors and Beast took a sample of blood from her. Yet from the moment Logan hit her, her hands shook and clenched and unclenched as though she was suffering from some subconscious spasms.

"There is massive brain activity," Xavier said quietly as he examined the monitors. "All levels of her brain are constantly working at all times, like they are all needed in order to process whatever is going on in her mind. I've never seen this before."

"What does it mean?" Storm asked. She was standing near the unconscious mutant, observing her carefully. She warily watched the hand movement and her eyes rolling from side to side beneath her eyelids. There was a grudging feeling of jealousy and anger that this young woman could override Storm's powers and yet she couldn't even survive a blow on the head without fainting. Still, the feelings shamed Storm.

"It means that she needs her entire brain for every second," Xavier replied. "As I'm sure you're all wondering, I can't tell what her powers are from this. But I do know that she is a class 5." He paused to think, his eyes glancing briefly at Logan for any sign of a reaction. "Tell me how you brought her here."

"I hit her," Logan said gruffly. He was seated as far away from the stranger as possible, but he found it nearly impossible to keep from looking at her. She was a class 5, and that brought back difficult memories about Jean. She was also a class 5 and she nearly killed Xavier. But there was something different about this woman. She looked relatively young, younger than Storm, but she had a mystical quality about her. He wasn't quite sure what color to call her hair, since it was now a shimmering reddish brown. Her face was young and almost pure, if it weren't for her eyes shifting constantly.

But the strangest and most unsettling thing about her was that the moment he touched her, even for the split second it took to knock her unconscious, his skin prickled with a strange sensation. He couldn't tell what it was, whether it was anger, desire, or power. But in that instant he had no desire to hurt her. In fact he felt nothing at all. There was no anger, pain, or sorrow. And he did not know why.

"You hit her?" repeated the professor. "Why would you do that?"

Logan paused before replying and instead Angel cut in. "None of us could get to her. I had tried flying, but the winds she was creating were too strong. And if Kurt tried to vanish and reappear, he was too unsteady and blown away."

Xavier nodded. "What was she doing when you arrived? Did she ever try to hurt you?"

"I don't think she knew we were there, Professor," Bobby cut in. "She was just screaming and trying to hurt herself. She kept scratching herself and tearing at her clothes. I don't think meant to anything at all, actually."

"Thank you, Bobby. Now Bobby, Peter, Kitty, I would like you all to return to your rooms. Thank you very much for your assistance." Xavier smiled and nodded at them. Then when they left his expression hardened and he approached the sleeping mutant. It was clear that he was going to attempt to read her mind. He placed his hands near her temples and closed his eyes. Everyone held their breath as they watched.

Xavier opened up link between himself and the mutant woman. For the first moment he received several different emotions. They were all vague and did not help him at all. Then suddenly his head erupted in pain as thousands of different emotions and thoughts flooded his mind. He couldn't sort them out and everything jumbled together. He caught flashes of thoughts. Nothing made sense and it hurt beyond compare. Suddenly a racking pain tore through his mind and broke the connection. Xavier gasped as he opened his eyes and stared in awe at the mutant.

Logan flinched when he saw the pain in the professor's eyes. A startling flashback of Jean was brought forward in his mind and he suddenly feared that this mutant may be the same. She may be the cause of so much more pain. He couldn't let that happen again. He wouldn't. Before it was too late he would-

"I promise you that she is an entirely different person than Jean," Xavier said softly. His eyes were on Logan now. He watched apprehensively, but he looked tired. "I don't think it will come to that."

Anger exploded in Logan's chest. It was sudden, but every feeling of guilt, sorrow, and anger that he had harbored since killing Jean tore through him. It was so sudden that for a moment he didn't think it was him doing it…He leapt off of his chair fuming. "You don't know that! She could be exactly like Jean! She could kill you!" In a single instant his anger grew to the point that he was ready to kill the mutant, and everyone's terrified silence only increased his feelings. He stormed over to the table and, before he could stop himself, pierced the metal of the table near where her wrist was laying.

The comatose woman's hand suddenly gained life and clenched around his wrist. She threw her eyes open and stared hard at Logan. Instinctively, he brought his other hand around, claws out and ready to kill, and pointed them in her face. He stopped just short of killing her. All of his anger subsided. His skin prickled and a tingling feeling ran up his arm. He felt nothing.

* * *

Everything fell into place. All of the thoughts and emotions that had run rampant through her mind regained order. For a moment she felt nothing except his raw emotion, what she put there. His eyes were angry and wild. Their direct contact made her even more aware of it.

She did not see him raise his hand, but she knew he was. He was thinking about it, thinking about killing her. His thoughts were intensified in her mind and she was able to change his thoughts and emotions. As his claws reached her face, she wiped all emotion from him. His hand stopped and he simply stared at her.

Her hand still gripped his arm. She needed the direct contact. It was the first time she could ever remember personally touching someone else, and that intensified her knowledge of their emotions. It gave her the ability to concentrate and regain peace in her mind.

Slowly, she changed his emotions once more. Now his greatest desire was nothing more than to save her. The claws slid back into his hand. A sharp stab of pain ran through her own hand as they cut through his flesh. It vanished almost instantly as he healed over. Slowly, almost grudgingly, she released his hand and removed all of her influence over his emotions.

He could only stare.


	3. Ignorance is far from Bliss

_**Author's Note**: This scene is lasting a bit longer than I wanted, but if you just stick with it and suffer through you'll learn a lot about this new character. I'm sorry if you think this same scene is too long, but it is necessary. Also, I'm not entirely sure where Kurt if from, but I assumed he was from Germany. If anyone knows, please let me know. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I love knowing what you think about my story. R&R!_

_Ignorance is far from Bliss_

The room was deathly still. No one moved, and it was possible that no one even dared to breathe. The tension was overwhelming.

The woman on the table had released Logan and he had moved away from her a few steps. He had initially been startled by her sudden movements, but as he observed her now he wasn't quite sure what to make of her. She didn't seem dangerous at the moment. Actually, she didn't seem like anything. She looked rather confused and lost. The woman's breathing was steady, but her eyes betrayed a lost, lonely look. She was gazing down at the table and seemed to be determining what to make of it. It was almost as if she had never seen one before.

"Good evening, miss," Charles greeted her softly. She didn't make any sort of movement nor show that she understood that he was speaking to her. So he continued. "I apologize for Logan's earlier actions. If your head is bothering you, he may be blamed." Realizing the potential danger of his words, he quickly added, "But I assure you that he is sorry and meant nothing by it."

Still, the woman didn't respond to him. She lifted her right hand and studied it carefully. There was an IV on the back of her hand and several circular monitoring pads had been suctioned to her forearm. Slowly, she reached for the IV. Her fingers simply rested on it as though she wasn't quite sure what to do next.

"Ah," Charles began again. "Storm will assist you in removing those, if you wish."

As instructed, Storm cautiously walked toward the woman. She reached out to touch her arm, but the strange mutant jerked her arm back and shied away from the contact. Startled, Storm backed up again until she was next to Logan. Her disliking had just increased.

The woman drew a slow breath, and then she began to remove the IV from her hand. She flinched at the initial withdrawal, but steadied herself. After she removed that, she ripped off all of the suctions on her arms, chest, neck, and head. Small red circles were left in their places. It was only after all of them were removed that she seemed to remember that there others present in the room.

Charles watched her gaze slowly around the room. He was forced to read her body language since he could not plant himself in her mind. Her eyes did not seem wide with apprehension, surprise, or fear. Instead she looked lonely and out of place. She seemed like a child who had lost her home and family and been forced into a new and unfamiliar environment. To him, she seemed like the sort of person who would observe the events of a room rather than being the one to start them all.

He tried again to speak to her. "Welcome to my mutant home. I have brought you to a place where all mutants can be safe and learn from one another. This is a haven, miss. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish." He paused to watch her reaction, then asked, "Do you have a name?"

Her gaze had come to rest on Charles. She watched him with eyes that were no particular color. They narrowed, widened, and danced around in confusion as he spoke. She watched his mouth move carefully, as though it could unlock all the secrets of this new place. It was as though she was trying to process a string of words that made no sense to her.

Then he understood. "She does not speak English," he announced to the room.

"Perhaps she speaks German," Kurt offered after a short pause. The professor nodded and indicated for him to try and communicate. However, she did not respond any better to his attempts than to Xavier's. There was an interlude of silence as they all thought of a way to bridge the linguistic gap between themselves and this new, very powerful mutant.

"Great," Logan said when no one could think of anything. "We have a class five mutant sitting in here and no one knows how to talk to her." He grimaced and anger was printed clearly on his face. "We don't know what she wants, how she feels, or what she'll do if she gets angry! We don't know a damn thing about her!"

"Logan," Charles snapped. "I understand your fear, but yelling will not solve the problem. We have to come up with a solution." He turned to Hank and continued. "And I propose that we teach her to speak English, if Hank will agree?"

"Of course, Charles," Hank said courteously. "I can absent myself for a little while for such a good cause."

"That doesn't solve anything!" Logan muttered gruffly, his anger in danger of boiling over.

"Wait!" Storm interrupted. She pointed to the mutant woman and everyone's attention returned to her.

On the table, she was grimacing and swallowing hard. Her mouth parted and she seemed to be trying to imitate the movements of speech with her own mouth. Yet no words escaped her lips. She didn't make any sound, and it looked like it pained her. Eventually, she sighed in defeat and looked at Logan, her head tilted slightly to one side. Like this, she reminded him of a dog who wanted so badly to learn a new trick from her master but couldn't seem to accomplish it.

Charles smiled slightly at the sight. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Very well, we will begin tomorrow if that is suitable for you, Hank? In the meantime, Storm will you show our new guest to her room. It is very late and I think we all need some sleep."

Storm was about to protest and declare that if this woman couldn't understand English how is she going to know what to do? But as she made her way to the door, the woman slid off the table and followed her obediently down the halls. As far as Storm was concerned, this woman was a strange phenomenon that would have been better for them to remain undiscovered.

* * *

She sat in her room, alone and undisturbed. But she was utterly confused. She had no idea where she was, who she was with, or what they wanted with her. More importantly, she couldn't ever remember having seen people before. She had seen pictures in her mind, memories from…were they her memories or someone else's?

Either way, she couldn't ever remember being around people. And it was probably better that way. Before, wherever she had been isolated, she felt everything. She remembered cheering happily as she rang in the New Year, crying out with pain as she brought a new child into the world, sweating laboriously as she helped build the Great Wall of China. But did she really do any of these things? Did she fiercely slit a man's throat and watch with revengeful satisfaction as racking pain tore through her own body and blood spouted from her throat. She could not be sure.

But now that she was so close to them, all of their thoughts and emotions tore through her mind and body at a terrifying rate. She knew the cautious hatred of the woman with white hair, the patient curiosity of the man in the metal chair, the longing sorrow of the man who would have killed her out of anger. She felt all of these things as well, and she clearly saw every memory they ever had. Their childhoods, their fears, and their joys were now hers to experience in greater detail than ever before.

It frightened her. This was the first emotion she could ever remember personally experiencing, and it was fear.

Yet it was not fear from them although she could not communicate. Well, she assumed that was what they were trying to do as strange sounds issued from their mouths. She had never heard that before and was not sure what to make of it. However, she did not worry too much over that at the moment because she could sense their intentions. The only one with any malevolent wishes to her was the man she used earlier to steady her mind. Despite him, their intentions were pure.

No, her fear was the fear of the unknown. This was the first time she ever thought of herself as a single entity, separate from all others in the world. Now, for the first time, she was certain that she was not standing stiff and allowing her boughs to drift in the wind as she watched the world pass her by. She was not crouched on the floor of the jungle, her belly dragging on the undergrowth, stalking her prey. She was not surrounded by water, leaping into the air on occasion, and racing boats. And she was certainly not all of that at the same time.

So who was she and what would become of her?


	4. Silence Comes ByNature?

_Silence Comes by…Nature?_

Storm woke early the next day. Well, earlier than she was accustomed to. She was adjusting well to being a teacher again rather than the headmistress. It was relieving not to have to worry about so much. But today she had more concerns than usual. And, naturally, they all revolved around this mysteriously powerful mutant.

She was seated on a balcony, looking up at the overcast skies. Pondering things like what would happen if she got angry or out of control again, or were the children safe around her, Hank walked up beside her. "Good morning," he greeted her, snapping her out of her thoughtful daze. She smiled and replied, though it was a distant greeting. "A bit thoughtful this morning? Or perhaps a bit suspicious?" he questioned politely.

She sighed and turned to face him. "I can't help it, Hank. There's just too much we don't know about her. It's to the point where we could be risking the lives of the children. I mean, if she is as powerful as Jean, she could do so much damage. I'm not comfortable having someone like that around these children."

Hank smiled at her, a calm and soothing smile. "There is a beauty in being what we are. We all possess two traits that set our lives on a certain course. Those would be random genetic variation and free will."

Storm gave a confused laugh at his intelligent answer. "What are you talking about?"

"It means that we all have different abilities," he explained. "That is what random genetic variation is: the splitting of genes and the random pairing of them to form a gamete, or an infant with unique personal traits and abilities. And free will lets us choose our own fates in situations. She doesn't have to be like Jean, Storm."

His last comment was quiet and assuring. Yet she was still not completely convinced. She paused to get her thoughts in order and accurately express her feelings. "Still, there is so much we can't be sure about. And what if Logan's right? What if she really is too dangerous, but we don't find out until it's too late? What do we do if there are more deaths?"

"Would you suggest the cure?" Hank asked quickly.

"What? No!" Storm snapped. She had been flustered and caught off guard by his question. She was about to make a sharp reply when he continued.

"A person can waste away their entire life thinking about 'what if?' I am a man of the present. I prefer to think of what is happening now and what I am able to do to improve things that need. And today I am to attempt to improve our communications with this woman so that all of your 'what if's' don't actually happen." Hank smiled warmly at her once more, then turned away and went to find a suitable breakfast.

Storm remained in place for several long moments. His words touched her and made her think carefully. Perhaps Hank was right. Perhaps she should be working to understand with woman rather than immediately persecuting her. Still, she would not trust this woman so easily when so much about her was left undiscovered.

* * *

Lessons were long and grueling that day. Going off of the theory that she spoke a language that was not English or German, Hank spent hours going through a computer to find samples of hundreds of languages. He played clips of different languages for her, but she didn't seem to recognize any. Thoroughly disheartened after hours of work, Hank was coming to terms with a new theory about this new mutant.

However, their hours spent were not a complete waste of time. Hank did learn about her peculiar behavior. Rather, he saw more of it. The moment he played a clip of Spanish for her, she leapt out of her chair and took a defensive stance against the computer. For whatever reason, hearing it speak frightened her more than being abducted by the X-men, brought here, and listening to them speak without understanding a word of it. The question remained, why?

When she had been so startled, Hank quickly rose and tried to comfort her. It had been his first instinct to say soothing words to reassure her despite the fact that she was unable to understand him. Somehow, she must have understood because she calmed down enough to sit back down. In time, however, after he had shown her samples of over one hundred different languages, she panicked again. This time she leapt up and the computer spontaneously burst into flames!

He had thrown his hands over his face to protect himself. Then, once he had moved away from the heat of the fire, he glared at the woman. He could not help himself from glaring. She had destroyed thousands of dollars worth of technology and priceless information. Yet when he looked at her, he was ashamed for thinking so negatively about her. Her mouth was curved downward in a frown and she looked up at him from lowered eyelids, as though she were ashamed of her actions. But it was what she did next that confused him beyond anything else.

As he watched her, his anger subsiding, she looked over at the flaming computer and blew softly with her lips. The air, soft at first, grew stronger and gusted over to the computer. The flames billowed at first, then wavered. It was then that he noticed his glass full of water. It sat on the desk near the wasted technology. The water was lifted out of the glass and brought over the flames. Miraculously, such a minute amount of water was able to smother the flames and put out the fire.

Hank stared open-mouthed at the mutant woman. She looked at him as though seeking his approval. Then, as though she was not given it, she turned and fled the room. Coming to his senses, Hank snatched a pad of paper and a pen and began to scribble notes furiously. His theory was becoming clearer.

* * *

Logan was outside on the grounds teaching. He had taken advantage of one of the first sunny days to take his class outside. Sure it was still wet, but that would introduce them to conditions that were not completely idealistic.

"Alright! Listen up!" He looked out at his class and saw Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty among others. He could sense the tension between them. It may not have been as obvious now that Rogue could actually touch Bobby, but it was there. "Ok, we're going to work on adjusting to your surroundings. Who thinks they can maneuver out 'ere?"

There was a rustle of movement, but no one was brave enough to step up to the challenge. Logan nodded at the cowardice of teenagers, and then yelled out, "Come on. It's a challenge. Someone has to step up."

For a moment, Bobby looked as though he would volunteer himself to try. But before he could the doors to the mansion were thrown open and the mysterious woman walked out. Everyone turned to watch her. Gossip had spread among the students, but only Bobby, Kitty, and Colossus had actually seen her. The rest were speechless. Even Logan could think of nothing to say as she walked past them. Before he had not taken note of how beautiful her hair looked when it shown in the sun, or her shimmering eyes that had a blue-golden tint in the sun, or how incredible her body was. How could he have wanted to kill her only hours before?

"Logan?" Rogue asked softly to get his attention.

"Yeah, kid?" he asked gruffly. He was suddenly embarrassed that she had caught him staring at the woman instead of paying attention to his class. He had just turned back to his class when she walked by him. He caught her eye and she gave him a shy smile that he returned with a questioning look. But she only walked past him and sat down on the grass a few hundred feet away.

She could hear his voice from where she sat, but the gargle of sounds made no sense to her. Instead it was his emotions that she clued in on. She felt his skin prickle as she walked by, and because of that so did hers. Yet his thoughts drifted further back in her mind when she seated herself upon the ground. The wet blades of grass brushed against her bare legs and the wind caressed her skin and blew her hair about her. She sat cross-legged and let nature touch her where her clothes did not reach.

Instantly her mind was filled with fantastic thoughts and images. Memories of people walking by, fighting and laughing, pressing down their heavy weight were brought forward. She saw of incredible shows of power that were witnessed from by a third person. She felt the calm stillness of continuity paired with rapid change.

The rapid thoughts shot through her mind at an alarming rate. The direct contact with living organisms increased the degree of her awareness of their feelings and memories. She closed her eyes and fought hard to put them back in order. Slowly, she could feel herself gaining more control. When she had pushed back all of the foreign thoughts, she concentrated on her own mixed up emotions.

So far as she could tell, this was the first time she had been able to focus and find a distinctive difference between her life and everything else, between her thoughts and emotions and everyone else's. Her own memories of last night and this morning appeared. A multitude of feelings bombarded her. She was ashamed, lonely, and utterly confused. Memories of her actions this morning caused a strange ache in her chest and belly. She recognized it at once as shame and embarrassment.

And how had it happened? She knew that she caused it, but how? She could remember feeling threatened and endangered. Then the flames just appeared. The threat was gone, but the man was very angry with her. That was when she felt shame. Perhaps she had overreacted, but what else was there to do? In an attempt to fix her wrongdoings, she remembered causing the water to put it out. That too had just happened. It was almost like it was an instinct, not a conscious action. But that didn't change that she had done something wrong. It also added more confusing properties to her already muddled life. What was she to do now?

And the blue man wanted so badly to communicate with her. She felt it. She had tried to communicate with him, but he did not seem as attuned to her thoughts as she was to his. She had felt his desperation, but was unable to do anything about it. Perhaps there was a way for her to learn to communicate…She pondered that thought for a few minutes. Then she vowed to learn no matter how long it took.

Her train of thought continued, and as she thought she continued picking up thoughts from the students around her. They were vague and pushed to the back of her mind, but they were there. Occasionally she would feel a sharp stab of pain, or the inkling of jealousy. But they soon subsided and caused her little problems.

Then, suddenly, a horrible fear shot through her and she had the strangest sensation of her stomach plummeting. Closing her eyes, she allowed the emotions to take over. She was in danger and freefalling.

"Bobby!"

The word cut through the air and pierced her mind. It was not so much the word that sliced through her fear, but the panic attached to it that caused her to redirect her attention. With a clear mind, she whirled around and saw a boy falling through the air. A runway of slick ice had formed on the ground below him. She suddenly understood.

It had been his fear.

Reacting on instinct, she threw out her hand. The ice thawed immediately and grass and roots jutted upward from out of the ground. They formed a soft, round bed directly below the boy. He fell into the ground she had prepared for him, and, much to his surprise, it caught him softly and he actually bounced slightly upon impact.

Bobby scrambled up and watched the woman withdraw her hand. As she did, the grass and roots retracted and the earth transformed back to the wet, squishy, flat mess it had been. She caught Bobby's eye and smiled in an embarrassed way. It was almost as if she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing.

"Thank you," he breathed as Logan and Rogue came running towards him. "I'm fine," he said hurriedly. Reluctantly, he turned away from the woman and walked back to the class with Logan and Rogue. When his adrenaline stopped rushing quite as rapidly, he noticed Kitty with a very worried look on her face. Bobby knew that it was only because of Rogue's presence that Kitty had not run to save him.

Logan caught Bobby's gaze sway from Rogue to Kitty. His blood began to boil as he thought about how Rogue may be hurting, but he pushed those thoughts to the side for now. He turned around and stared the woman down. Sure she had saved Bobby, but that didn't ease his caution. She was a complete mystery, and he would never trust her while she was. But that also explained some of the attraction…He nodded his head at her, a silent "thank you." Then he turned his attention back to his class, but not before he saw her smile slightly and blush.


End file.
